Fiberizing press



Sept. 25, 1962 M. E. GINAVEN FIBERIZING PRESS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 11, 1957 INVENTOR. [lam/m E. q'mnvsu ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 25, 1962 3,055,291 FIBERIZING PRESS Marvin E. Ginaven, Springfield, Ohio, assignor to The Bauer Brothers Company, Springfield, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Filed Mar. 11, 1957, Ser. No. 645,176 4 Claims. (Cl. 100-117) This invention relates to fiberizing presses and more particularly to a screen bar construction enabling the assembly of an improved cage unit for a press whereby to provide a higher degree of fiberizing of materials therein.

In the production of pulp products from fibrous materials, the fibrous material being worked, such as raw wood, is transmitted in a fluid carrier through a staged arrangement of fiberizing and extraction elements which progressively shred and fiberize the wood and extract a maximum of fluid and liquors therefrom in the process. It is a matter of considerable economy and efficiency to obtain maximum fiberization of the wood in a single pass through a single press. In the prior art, screw press units have been devised for such purposes consisting of a continuous screw operating within a screen cage which is slotted for drainage purposes. The screw is composed of successive components which drive the raw wood cake through the screen cage producing successive twisting and compressing of the raw wood therein to a successively higher degree. The cage serves to contain the screw and the materials being worked therein and provides outlet for the fluids and liquors extracted in the process.

The subject invention in its preferred embodiment consists of employing alternate rectangular and Wave-line screen bars in forming a cylindrical cage for the screw components of the fiberizing press. The improved cage construction obtaining thereby provides pockets in the internal surface of the cage defined by sharp edges to provide increased resistance to spiral flow of material therethrough. These pockets also provide positive shearing and shredding of the material which is driven in a spiral flow by the twisting components of the screw assembly within the cage. The improved cage ofiers little resistance to axial flow of the material therethrough.

The object of the invention is to simplify the construction as well as the means and mode of operation of fiberizing presses, whereby such presses may not only be economically manufactured, but will be more efficient and satisfactory in use, adaptable to a wide variety of applications, and be unlikely to get out of repair.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved cage construction for the screw assembly in such a press which enables a positive working of the fibrous materials by the cage unit in conjunction with the screw assembly contained therein for substantially increased shredding of the material being worked to effect a very high quality pulp product in a single pass through the fiberizing press.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved cage unit for the twisting elements of a fiberizing press which includes spaced depressions or pockets in the internal surface thereof.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved screen bar construction particularly applicable for use in forming an operating cage for the twisting and/or compression elements of a fiberizing press.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved cage unit for a fiberizing press consisting of alternate cylindrically arranged screen bars wherein every other bar is depressed in at least longitudinally spaced portions thereof whereby to provide an operating cage having cylindrically spaced depressions in its inner surface to provide shear effects on spiral flow of material therethrough in contact therewith.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved cage construction for the fiberizing screw elements of a fiberizing press wherein the internal surface is provided with spaced undulations and sharp edges to offer increased resistance to spiral flow of the fibrous materials being worked through the cage, thereby effecting increased shredding and shearing of the material to pro vide an improved pulp product of a very high quality.

A further object of the invention is to provide a fiberizing press possessing the advantageous structural features, the inherent meritorious characteristics and the mode of operation herein mentioned.

With the above primary and other incidental objects in View as will more fully appear in the specification, the invention intended to be protected by Letters Patent consists of the features of construction, the parts and combinations thereof, and the mode of operation as hereinafter described or illustrated in the accompanying drawings, or their equivalents.

Referring to the accompanying drawing wherein is shown one but obviously not necessarily the only form of embodiment of the invention,

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal cross-section of a section of the improved cage unit as provided by the invention;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the preferred application of the cage unit of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary view of the outer surface of the improved cage unit;

FIG. 5 is an elevation view of the improved wave-line bar element employed in the cage unit of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 6 is a fragmentay cross-sectional view of the cage construction shown in FIG. 1.

Like parts are indicated by similar characters of reference throughout the several views.

The invention can be best described in detail with reference to the preferred embodiment thereof illustrated in the drawings. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the cylindrical cage unit includes a plurality of longitudinally extending bar elements 1 which are rectangular in crosssection and arranged in cylindrically spaced relation. Wave-line bar elements 2, which are also rectangular in cross-section are interposed between successive bar elements 1 and maintained in cylindrically spaced relation thereto by wedge shaped spacer plates 15. These spacer plates 15 are longitudinally spaced relative the bar elements to define wedge shaped slots 5 therebetween. The inner surface 11 of each bar element 1 is continuously and uniformly smooth while the inner surface 12 of each bar element 2 is provided with concave recesses or pockets 3 spaced longitudinally thereof. On assembly of the bars 1 and 2 in cylindrical fashion, parallel rows of pockets 3 are thus provided, spaced both longitudinally and cylindrically of the cage assembly. Thus, on assembly of the bar elements and the spacer elements, a complete cage unit obtains which has slots longitudinally and cylindrically spaced thereabout.

The bar elements 1 and 2 each have uniform transverse recesses 6 in the outer cylindrical surfaces thereof which mate cylindrically on assembly to define lands 16 therebetween. Noting FIG. 3 of the drawings, semi-circular clamp elements 7 and 3 mount over and under the assembled bars 1 and 2 seating on the mating lands 16. These clamp elements 7 and 8 have lateral projections at their abutting faces which mate and are connected by bolts 9 to clamp the bars in their assembled relation.

As may be seen from an illustrative application of the improved cage shown in FIG. 2 of the drawings, the

cage unit serves to contain the operating elements of a continuous screw assembly such as set forth in my copending application Serial No. 628,840, filed December 17, 1956, and entitled Fiberizing Press, now Letters Patent No. 2,935,931, issued May 10, 1960, which is inclusive of spaced bladed and compressing sections. A brief review of the illustrated components which are contained by the improved cage unit in this particular application will be made here to emphasize the advantages obtaining in the use thereof. As shown in FIG. 2 of the drawings, the longitudinally extending improved cage unit is conically expanded at the entrance end thereof. A composite continuous screw assembly extends therethrough consisting of a concentrically located shaft 25 having a sleeve 33 keyed thereto within the conically expanded entrance portion. This sleeve 33 is provided with a helically developed blade 35 conforming peripherally to the conical configuration of the interior of the entrance end of the cage unit. Adjacent the sleeve 33 on the shaft 25 are a series of spaced sleeve sections 50 having successively increased external diameters and peripherally extended bladed segments 51 integrally connected thereto. Interposed between the successive spaced sleeves 50 are sleeve elements 52 having external configurations of a conical or cylindrical nature expanding away from the entrance end of the cage unit. The external dimension of the elements 50 and 52 is such that the first bladed sleeve section 50 abutting the sleeve 33 has an external sleeve dimension of an identical nature to that of sleeve 33. The first conical sleeve section 52 expands from the first sleeve section 50 from a dimension identical therewith at its abutting face while the sleeve section 50 following has an external dimension identical with the expanded portion of the preceding sleeve section 52. The successive sections 50 and 52 are successively expanded in identical fashion to the outer end of the cage unit wherein a conical sleeve 52' serves as the discharge control sleeve for the assembly. It will be noted that while the dimension of the sleeve sections vary, the peripheral extent of the bladed segments 51 on the sleeve sections 50 is identical and the blades are immediately confined within the internal surface of the cage unit assembled thereabout. The sleeve elements 33, 5t), 52 and 52' are all keyed to the main shaft 25 which drives the sleeve elements therewith. Further detail relative the mounting of the bladed sleeve elements to the shaft 25 will not be. described at this point since the details thereof constitute no part of the present invention and may be seen with reference to the aforementioned co-pending application.

In the operation of the apparatus, a motor (not shown) drives the shaft 25 and the sleeve elements thereon. For example, raw wood chips in a fluid carrier are delivered to the conically formed helical blade 35 integral with the sleeve 33. This blade 35 constitutes a worm with a long pitch which advances the material under high pressure to effect a substantial compression of the material as it is introduced into the improved cage section 13 which is of uniform internal dimension. As the chips are advanced into the cage section 13 a substantial amount of fluid is drained and dispersed in the conical entrance section through the slots 5 provided by the spacing of the bar elements 1 and 2 by the wedge shaped spacer plates 15. In effect, a cake of the chips fed is thus advanced to the element 50 which develops a twisting of the chips in the cage section 13 to initially be engaged by the first bladed feed thereof to afford a measure of fiberization thereto and to force them past the following element 52 to provide further compression of the chips due to the conical configuration thereof expanding outwardly to the end of the cage unit.

As the chips in the form of a cake are successively advanced past the successive elements 50 and 52, a successively higher degree of twisting and compression of the possible. However, in accordance with the invention, the

breaker bars are completely eliminated. The wave-line bars employed in alternate bars of the cage 13 provide longitudinally and cylindrically spaced shear pockets 3 in the inner surface of the cage. Thus, as spiral flow is induced in the chips by the blade segments 51, the chips are rotated against the internal surface of cage 13 and into the pockets 3 therein. This results in the spiral flow of the material being interrupted and the fibers being further sheared and shredded due to the radial sides and sharp edges of these pockets as provided by the sides of bars 1 adjacent thereto. The recesses in the cage thereby not only interrupt spiral flow but positively increase the degree of fiberization of the material being worked therein and provide a pulp product not possible in a single pass with the apparatus of the prior art. On the other hand, the waveline bars do not resist axial flow of material through the cage 13.

As can be readily seen, the improved cage construction provided by the invention affords an additional positive fiberizing and shredding action not previously available in single fiberizing press units of the prior art.

From the above description it will be apparent that there is thus provided a device of the character described possessing the particular features of advantage before enumerated as desirable, but which obviously is susceptible of modification in its form, proportions, detail construction and arrangement of parts without departing from the principle involved or sacrificing any of its advantages.

While in order to comply with the statute the invention has been described in language more or less specific as to structural features, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the specific features shown, but that the means and construction herein disclosed comprise but one of several modes of putting the invention into effect.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. Cage apparatus for fiberizing presses and the like comprising elongated bar units including an inner operating surface, an outer opposed surface and two side surfaces, said operating surface having transversely uniform interruptions therein in equi-distantly spaced relation, further bar units intermediate said first mentioned bar units forming a housing therewith, said further bar units having planar operating surfaces defining shear means to the sides of the interruptions in said elongated bar units, recesses in the outer surface of said bar units and clamp means about said bar units intermediate said recesses to lock them in said housing form.

2. A cage unit for fiberizing presses and the like including, a plurality of elongated bar elements, each of said elements being generally rectangular in cross-section, said elements having their sides arranged in continuously adjacent relation to form a surface of revolution, wedge elements interposed between adjacent side surfaces ofsaid bar elements establishing the innermost surfaces of said elements in closely adjacent relation providing the interior of a cage unit thereby, means containing said elements andspacers in their so established relation, the inner surface of spaced bar elements being formed to have a uniform smooth wave line configuration affording uniformly spaced depressions in the inner surface of said cage unit having. rectangular limits, said depressions being defined at their sides by the adjacent side surfaces of adjacent elements whereby to effect longitudinally directed flow pockets defined by shear means on the internal surface of said cage unit.

3. A fiberizing or like press, including a longitudinal barrel, rotatable screw means in said barrel providing helical screw flights extending into adjacent relation to the interior barrel surface, means for introducing fibrous material into said barrel for a propelling therethrough in a helical path by rotation of said screw means, and means defining in the plane of said interior barrel surface longitudinally spaced apart sharp edges of longitudinal extent exerting shear effects upon the material moving through said barrel, characterized in that said edges are formed by longitudinally extending short sided depressions in said interior barrel surface, said depressions being shallow in depth and formed with elongated sloping surfaces at their ends for a gradual merging with said interior barrel surface in a manner to offer a minimum resistance to longitudinal flow of the material through the barrel.

4. A cage unit for fiberizing presses and the like including, a plurality of elongated bar elements arranged in an approximately parallel circular manner to define a barrel for flow through of a fibrous material, said bar elements having inwardly facing surfaces cooperating to define an interior barrel surface, the inwardly facing surfaces of certain of said bar elements having a wave-line configuration defining with adjacent bar elements longitudinally extending sharp sided depressions in the interior barrel surface providing in the plane of such surface sharp edges of longitudinal extent exerting shear effects upon the material moving through said barrel, said wave-line configuration presenting shallow depressions of longitudinal extent connected to the interior barrel surface by gradually sloping end surfaces offering a minimum resistance to longitudinal flow of the material through the barrel.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 315,529 McGowan Apr. 14, 1885 458,002 Ribard Aug. 18, 1891 829,314 Anderson Aug. 21, 1906 1,974,697 Njzn Sept. 25, 1934 FOREIGN PATENTS 45,473 Norway Aug. 13, 1938 105,768 Switzerland Nov. 1, 1924 

